Iraq: cities by population
Iraq has a population of 48,007,437 (UN estimate, 2026), with Baghdad as its capital. The 50 largest of its 112 recorded towns and cities, ranked.
+97%
since 2000 (24,424,056)
+50%
projected by 2050 (71,928,750)
111
people per km²
Figures are the latest available in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), which draws on national censuses of varying dates — treat them as recent, not same-year. Country totals are UN World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant) where the UN lists the country separately; the handful it reports under a parent state keep a GeoNames figure and are marked as such. Sources & method.
Largest cities in Iraq
| # | Place | Region | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baghdad | Baghdad | 7,216,000 |
| 2 | Mosul | Nineveh | 1,683,000 |
| 3 | Erbil | Erbil | 1,612,700 |
| 4 | Basrah | Basra | 1,326,564 |
| 5 | Karbala | Karbala | 1,218,732 |
| 6 | Kirkuk | Kirkuk | 1,031,000 |
| 7 | Abū Ghurayb | Baghdad | 900,000 |
| 8 | Sulaymaniyah | Sulaymaniyah | 878,146 |
| 9 | Nasiriyah | Dhi Qar | 558,400 |
| 10 | Najaf | Najaf | 482,576 |
| 11 | Al Hillah | Babil | 455,700 |
| 12 | Abū al-Kahṣīb | Basra | 357,771 |
| 13 | Al Maḩmūdīyah | Baghdad | 350,000 |
| 14 | Dihok | Duhok | 340,900 |
| 15 | Al ‘Amārah | Maysan | 323,302 |
| 16 | Al Diwaniyah | Al-Qadisiyah | 318,801 |
| 17 | Al-Kut | Wasit | 315,162 |
| 18 | Al Madīnah | Basra | 255,000 |
| 19 | Kelar | Sulaymaniyah | 250,000 |
| 20 | Ramadi | Anbar | 223,500 |
| 21 | Al Fallūjah | Anbar | 190,159 |
| 22 | Ash Shaţrah | Dhi Qar | 182,175 |
| 23 | Khānaqīn | Diyala | 175,000 |
| 24 | Bayjī | Salah ad Din | 173,677 |
| 25 | Ash Sharqāt | Salah ad Din | 160,000 |
| 26 | Sāmarrā’ | Salah ad Din | 158,508 |
| 27 | Al Miqdādīyah | Diyala | 155,968 |
| 28 | As Samawah | Muthanna | 152,890 |
| 29 | Baqubah | Diyala | 152,550 |
| 30 | Sumayl | Duhok | 152,512 |
| 31 | Simele | Duhok | 152,512 |
| 32 | Khasnahzān | Erbil | 146,639 |
| 33 | Qeładizê | Sulaymaniyah | 140,688 |
| 34 | Al Hindīyah | Karbala | 139,578 |
| 35 | Al Qurnah | Basra | 134,174 |
| 36 | Baḥarkah | Erbil | 130,518 |
| 37 | Sīnah | Duhok | 128,776 |
| 38 | Az Zubayr | Basra | 122,676 |
| 39 | Ţūz Khūrmātū | Salah ad Din | 120,712 |
| 40 | Rānyah | Sulaymaniyah | 114,173 |
| 41 | Qal‘at Sukkar | Dhi Qar | 110,000 |
| 42 | An Nu‘mānīyah | Wasit | 110,000 |
| 43 | Kufa | Najaf | 110,000 |
| 44 | Umm Qaşr | Basra | 107,620 |
| 45 | 'Ākra | Nineveh | 105,370 |
| 46 | Al Fāw | Basra | 104,569 |
| 47 | Al-Musayab | Babil | 101,873 |
| 48 | Nāḩiyat al Iskandarīyah | Babil | 100,600 |
| 49 | Zaxo | Duhok | 95,052 |
Twenty years earlier: Iraq in the 2005 World Gazetteer — population then 26,095,283.
Common questions
What is the population of Iraq?
Iraq has a population of 48,007,437, the UN World Population Prospects estimate for 2026. The UN's medium-variant projection for 2050 is 71,928,750 — a forecast, not a measurement.
What is the capital of Iraq?
Baghdad.